Media outlets should have an idea who's watching them (Photo by 'espensorvik' / flickr)

Today’s fast moving media environment requires a lot of flexibility from media workers. Multimedia skills are a must. Journalists need to be able to produce stories for radio or television, print or online. At the same time, digitization, the Internet and affordable equipment enables anyone who wishes to open a TV station on YouTube or at least run a blog site.

All this technical innovation offers tempting perspectives for hard working and talented journalists. But frustration and failure might set in when it turns out that hardly anybody is watching or reading.

Journalists can be very creative when researching stories which can serve as an eye opener for the audience. It’s said that good stories can literally be found on the street. But nevertheless, proper research, production and distribution to the audience also require solid funding. Thus, a successful media company will also need to think of how to attract financial backing either directly from the audience or from sponsors.

Here journalists could also use their creativity and research skills for understanding their audience. The new media realities also offer more choices for the audience. Times are gone when people would gather at a certain time around a radio or TV set to get the main news from the dominant broadcaster. Today, even the most remote communities are at least able to access different news providers via their mobile phones whenever it’s convenient for them.

Photo by EIFL / flickr

This new audience behavior requires re-thinking on the side of news producers. Along with journalistic skills, they also need a strong understanding of specific audience needs. A first important step is to define the target audience, i.e. for whom are we producing the reports? In case our client is another company, we should ask as well: what is their audience?

If we’re mandated to produce stories for students, our topics should focus on career development and urban life. On the other hand, sustainable land development and traditional music would be of greater interest to middle-aged viewers in the countryside.

Media producers should try to view daily life from the perspective of the target audience. This requires little efforts and costs. A small field trip to a student campus or the village market will most likely provide new insights about the target group. Just as with other research areas, we should try to answer questions such as: what are the routine tasks of our target audience and what information do they need to get it done better? What are their aspirations and dreams? What are their fears and frustrations? How do they access news? Finding the proper answers will enable us to produce stories that keep our audience interested in our work.

A media outlet that can anticipate the information needs of its audience or the target group of the client will maintain a stronger position on the market.

As vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Mohan Munasinghe shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007. Currently he is chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) in Colombo, a professor of sustainable development at the University of Manchester in the U.K., a distinguished guest professor at Peking University and honorary senior adviser to the government of Sri Lanka. He is widely recognized as having introduced a framework called sustainomics to make development more sustainable.

Munasinghe said that the driving forces of globalization have converged in such a way that now the world’s richest 20% consume 85% of resources. Noting some cities, communities and big businesses around the world that have already voluntarily committed to more sustainable paths, more such activity could increase “bottom-up pressure” and also encourage governments and international institutions to go forward with more sustainable policies.

Earlier this year, Munasinghe proposed to the United Nations the Millennium Consumption Goals, a complement to the Millennium Development Goals to help the world’s poor. Unlike the MDGs, the MCGs would be voluntary.

Though there are upsides to globalization for some, Munasinghe currently sees a “systematic crowding-out” of the world’s poor, not only in terms of their economic prosperity, but also their environmental welfare and social inclusion. Speaking during a plenary discussion on globally active corporations and human rights, Munasinghe said, “Sustainable development, which provides basic needs like food, water and energy and ensures survival and a decent standard of living, is a fundamental human right”.

In an interview, Munasinghe explained his view of the media’s role in sustainable development. He says the media play a critical role in communicating to the rich their responsibility to bring about change and that there is much at stake – not only for the poor but for the elite as well – if the current global system collapses. They would only need to make small changes with no great impact on their lifestyles by reducing consumption by about 10% – 15%. This would create more resources for the poor and allow for “managed change” which is much more preferable to unpredictable change.

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